When the Sun Goes Down is the third and final studio album by American band Selena Gomez & the Scene, released on June 21, 2011, by Hollywood Records.

The lead single from the album, "Who Says" was released in March 2011, peaking at number 21 in the United States and in the top twenty in Canada and New Zealand.

[3] On March 18, 2011, in an interview with MTV News, Gomez revealed, "the third record is really fun, and there's a song called 'Hit the Lights' that I love, and it's basically about every missed opportunity that you've had," she said.

[4] Gomez also revealed British singer Pixie Lott and German producer Toby Gad had both penned tracks for the album, while confirming its release for later that year.

Also serving as the album's second single, the song contains deep, whispered vocals and incorporates a eurodisco rhythm and a soft dubstep influence.

"We Own the Night" was written by Toby Gad and British electronic soul singer-songwriter Pixie Lott, who is also featured on backing vocals.

"Hit the Lights" written by Leah Haywood, Daniel James, Tony Nilsson and produced by Dreamlab is a dance song about overcoming anxiety and living in the moment.

[17] Selena Gomez stated that "When the Sun Goes Down" held a special meaning for her and her bass player, Joey Clement, because of their collaborative involvement in the track's composition.

"[16] The eighth track on the album is "My Dilemma", a Kelly Clarkson-esque pop rock song about conflicted feelings towards a potential breakup.

"Outlaw" is a bleak cautionary tale and revenge ballad lyrically similar to Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Casanova" and Lady Gaga's "Monster".

The song has been met with generally positive reviews from most music critics, with many praising its theme of self-empowerment[18][19] and Bill Lamb of About.com even called the band "the most consistent Disney pop hitmaker in recent years.

"[20] The song was commercially successful, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and selling over three million copies in the United States, and was certified triple platinum by RIAA.

[22][23] The song also managed to peak inside the top fifty in Germany[24] and Ireland[25] and appeared on the main charts in the United Kingdom,[26] Belgium,[23] Australia,[27] Austria, Thailand and Vietnam.

[29] The video was released in November 2011, the song has currently attained the top thirty chart position in Belgium and debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 at number ninety-three.

"[12] Tim Sendra, writing for AllMusic, called the album "an improvement over 2010's A Year Without Rain and "fun" but felt that "she seems to be acting out the songs, more than actually feeling the emotions she's singing about" and that "if she wants to make a real impact, she'll need to dig a little deeper or stake out her own territory.

"[13] Jody Rosen from Rolling Stone had a more negative review, writing that "she brings nothing in the way of personality to her songs" and that "Gomez may be the most boring teen-pop star of her generation.

"[11] John Bergstrom of PopMatters opined that the album "smacks of cold calculation" and that "it could have been conceived, designed, written and produced by a computer program, the only human input being those of Gomez's vocals" while adding that "here you have 27 songwriters and eight production teams contributing to a total of 11 songs.